Process for making a pet treat

ABSTRACT

A composition and process for making pet food treats is described herein. Auxiliary ingredients are combined to form a meat mixture. The meat mixture is formed into portions. The portions of meat mixture are positioned on a chew stick that comprises rawhide. The pet treat gives the appearance of a grilled shish kabob, where the meat portions are meant for initial taste, while the chew stick will provide the dog with a longer-lasting chewing portion.

One of the main attributes of chew type products is a toughness andflexibility to the point where it takes the dog a long time to consumethe product. A great majority of the chew style products includerawhide. While rawhide is used as a base material, it has limitedacceptability because it does not maintain a dog's interest.Manufacturers have attempted to solve this problem of reducedacceptability by incorporating numerous ingredients and processingtechniques into the manufacture of rawhide-based chews for dogs, such asincorporating meat in the middle of a rawhide stick.

Despite this, the basic problem remains. As ingredients or processingtechniques are utilized with rawhide to increase palatability, theytypically weaken the basic structure of the rawhide and produce a lessacceptable product from the standpoint of extended chew time. Further,the rawhide stick does not provide a visually appealing treat for dog.The pet treat also does not give the pet owner a visually acceptablereaction when purchasing the pet treat. What is needed is a pet treatthat provides a visually appealing product that stimulates a human topurchase the pet treat. What is needed is a pet treat that provides apalatable product for a pet and can provide an initial taste reward, butalso gives the dog a chew portion for sustained pet treat duration.

The prior art demonstrates utilizing rawhide in dog chews, Fisher (U.S.Pat. No. 2,988,045) demonstrated the basic techniques of how rawhide canbe separated at the tannery and split into layers that can be formedinto shapes followed by dehydration to produce a shelf-stable rawhidechew for dogs. A wide range of patents for rawhide chew style productsfollowed, teaching various forms, shapes and methods for utilizing abasic rawhide fraction as a dog chew. This included Lehn (U.S. Pat. No.4,702,929) which teaches a method for extruding rawhide byproductfraction, called spetches, with starch to form a dog chew in stick form.Spanier (U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,231) teaches a method of soaking aninorganic pyrophosphate salt into rawhide to form a chew capable ofreducing tartar accumulation on the dog's teeth. Perlberg (U.S. Pat. No.6,223,693) demonstrates a method of soaking rawhide in a humectant andsoft edible binder to produce a flexible edible chew. Twain (U.S. Pat.No. 6,425,348) taught a method for producing a chewable pet shelter fromrawhide which incorporated chemical flavoring which would appeal to thepet.

Kirch (U.S. Pat. No. 6,840,196) demonstrates a pet chew produced byfolding a first sheet of rawhide around a second sheet of rawhide. Thesecond sheet is impregnated with a flavoring and protrudes from underthe first sheet of rawhide. This system served to increase thepalatability of the chew while at the same time reduced the incident ofrug staining which can be a problem when the flavoring is present on thesurface of the product.

Hingst (U.S. Pat. No. 6,895,900) disclosed a combination rawhide andpigskin product where sheets of rawhide and pigskin are sandwiched orintertwined together to form a treat with improved flavor. Jia (U.S.Pat. No. 6,935,275) teaches a method for producing a dog treat byrolling a precut and flavored rawhide piece into a cylinder with stripsof hide extending from the outer ends of the cylinder.

Hague (U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,497) disclosed a product and method forinfusing a rawhide or pigskin with a mint, or chlorophyll, flavoring andapplying perforations to the hide so that a dog's teeth would penetrateinto the product to assist in the cleaning of the dog's teeth.

Some of the most commercially successful products utilizing rawhide asdog treats have taken the approach of incorporating a meat fraction inconjunction with the rawhide to significantly increase the palatabilityof the chew. Sherrill (U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,653) disclosed a product andprocess of wrapping jerky sheets on the inside of a roll of rawhide. Thejerky fraction protruded from the ends and the horizontal seam of theoutside layer so that the dog could quickly be subjected to the flavorof the dehydrated meat fraction. This product is commercially known as a“Dingo” treat. Only a small portion of meat fraction however isinitially available to the dog and the manufacturing method of rollingrawhide within sheets of jerky significantly reduce the quantity of meatthat can be incorporated on a dry weight basis.

Greenburg (U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,237) teaches a method of melting rawhidescraps inside of a twin-screw extruder and producing ropes that can becut and tied to produce a formulated knotted rawhide bone. While smallquantities of meat or flavoring can be incorporated with this method,the necessity to feed the extruder at a reduced moisture level limitsthe amount of meat fraction that can be included.

Andersen (U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,420) demonstrates a method of making apreformed rawhide tube and depositing a shelf-stable liquid meatyfilling into the cavity of the tube which gels and then forms a solidmatrix on the inside of the rawhide. While this system incorporateslarge ratios of meaty filling fraction to rawhide, the chew time issomewhat reduced by the high moisture present in the system.

Brown (U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,496) has attempted to solve this problem byproducing a pre-extruded dried meaty log that could be placed inside ofa rolled rawhide cylinder. While this would result in a somewhatextended chew time over many of the earlier treats, a limited fractionof meat is available on the surface of the final chew to maintain adog's interest for an extended period of time. Further, the initial meatreward may not be sufficient to entice the dog to finish the treatleaving a remnant of the treat behind.

Yet there is nothing in the prior art that provides a dry outer meatportion for initial flavor enhancement, with a rawhide chew for asubsequent dog chew that is appealing to a pet. The pet treat beingsized to provide an intermediary pet treat that is more substantial thana “reward treat,” (i.e. dog biscuit) but will take less time to consumewhen compared to a classic rawhide bone.

SUMMARY

A composition and process for making pet food treats is describedherein. Animal meant and auxiliary ingredients are combined to form ameat mixture. The meat mixture is formed into portions. The portions ofmeat mixture are positioned on a chew stick that comprises rawhide. Thepet treat gives the appearance of a grilled shish kabob, where the meatportions are meant for initial taste and the chew stick will provide thedog with a longer-lasting chewing portion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a process of making a meat mixture.

FIG. 2 illustrates one embodiment of a process of making a chew stick.

FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a process of making a pet chew.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a process of drying a pet treat.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment of a process of inspecting a pet treatprior to shipment.

FIG. 6 illustrates one embodiment of a pet treat manufacturing process.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a pet treat.

FIG. 8 is an end elevation view of a pet treat.

FIG. 9 is a side elevation view of a pet treat.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The method of making a pet treat is described herein. FIGS. 1-6illustrate schematic depictions of particular aspects of the methods ofmaking a pet treat. The method comprises forming a meat mixture intoportions and positioning a one or more portions on a chew stick, anddrying the pet treat. As shown in FIG. 1, the meat base is made fromanimal meat and may comprise boneless chicken, duck, chicken liver andcombinations thereof. The animal meat may be fresh, dehydrated,powdered, and extract or frozen. The frozen animal meat is defrosted atabout 0 degrees Celsius to about 5 degrees Celsius. Once the animal meatis defrosted, the animal meat is weighed. Once the predetermined amountof animal meat is weighed, the meat is placed in a grinder, the animalmeat(s) is ground and mixed with the specific desired ratio of animalmeat(s) and stored in a container as a meat base. It should be notedthat the meat base may be frozen for later use, or may be usedimmediately after the meat base is prepared. Further, one shouldappreciated that although boneless chicken, duck and chicken liver arenoted in FIG. 1, the meat base can also include beef, pork, lamb, goat,horse, buffalo, venison, elk, moose, chicken, turkey, fish, or any otherseafood, or any combination of two or more thereof. Alternatively, themeat base need not include boneless chicken, duck and/or chicken liverand may comprise beef, pork, lamb, goat, horse, buffalo, venison, elk,moose, bone-in chicken, turkey, fish, or any other seafood, or anycombination of two or more thereof. The term “meat” associated with“meat base” and “meat mixture” are intended to encompass portions ofanimals, mammal and non-mammal, that can be used for a pet treat. Thisincludes but is not limited to soft tissue, internal organs, cartilageand bone.

In one embodiment of the invention, chicken meat is used as a meat base.Chicken meat can include, for example, necks, breasts, or backs, or anycombination of two or more thereof, with or without cartilage and/orbone ground to small sizes (i.e., emulsified). Chicken meat can alsoinclude necks, breasts, or backs, or any combination of two or morethereof that are boneless and ground to desired sizes. Chicken meat caninclude mechanically separated chicken (MSC). Chicken meat can alsoinclude a mixture of boneless or bone-in chicken, mixed together invarious portions. The chicken meat is used in an amount of about 6-35%by weight of the meat mixture. It should be appreciated that the otheranimal sources, including various sections of the animal can be used toprovide a final taste or consistency for the meat. In embodiments whereother meat sources are used, the total meat content is 6% to 35% byweight of the meat mixture.

The process of forming a chew stick includes, but is not limited to theuse of rawhide, or other similar materials to form an elongated section.It should be appreciated that the chew stick, as described herein may bemade from several processes available to one skilled in the art; forexample, extrusion, molding and the like are within the scope of theinvention. In one example embodiment, the chew stick is prepared byshaping a piece of rawhide to form an elongated chew. As shown in FIG.2, chew stick (illustrated in FIG. 7) is manufactured by taking arawhide sheet and twisting the sheet to form an elongated stick-shapechew. As described in FIG. 2, a first rawhide sheet is cut to anappropriate size and a second sheet of rawhide is also cut in the shapeof a similarly sized proportion. As shown, the first sheet and secondsheet may be rawhide from different animals. In at least this exampleembodiment, the second sheet is a pork rawhide. Each rawhide sheet issoaked in a potassium sorbate solution. As shown, the potassium sorbatesolution is (0.5%). Moreover, the second sheet has color agents added toenhance the overall appearance of the sheet. In this manner, the secondsheet will provide a darker meat-like color to provide an additionalvisual enhancement for the overall pet treat. Still referring to FIG. 2,second rawhide sheet is colored with Color Blue, Red 40 and Yellow. Itis important to note that the concentrations listed are representativeof concentrations that can be utilized. However one of ordinary skill inthe art would readily appreciate that the physical characteristics andanimal origin of the rawhide may require modifications in thecombinations and concentrations of each coloring agents to achieve adesired chew stick appearance. The sheets of rawhide may also beflavored according to one of the processes described herein.

The second sheet is placed upon the first sheet in the same generalorientation, the two rawhide sheets are twisted together, as described,to make a multi-component chew stick. Once the rawhide sheets aretwisted together, they are dried. In one example embodiment the chewstick is dried in an oven at 40 degrees Celsius to 65 degrees Celsiusfor 4 to 5 hours. Upon removing the dried chew stick from the oven, thesticks are allowed to cool to allow for ease in handling.

In some example embodiments, at least one rawhide section is soaked in apotassium sorbate solution prior to forming said chew stick. One skilledin the art can readily ascertain the precise concentration needed toprovide sufficient anti-mold activity. For example, one concentrationincludes a concentration of potassium sorbate at 0.5% v/v. The chewstick can be formed in a variety of ways. In order to achieve a dualcomponent appearance, one rawhide piece may be twisted where a portionof chew stick is colored to provide the appearance of a multi-layeredchew stick. Referring again to FIG. 2, two rawhide pieces can be used.In some related embodiments, the at least two rawhide pieces are fromdifferent animal sources.

FIG. 3 describes one example method of receiving, storing and processingmeat base to form a meat mixture. To that end, meat base can be storedat sub-zero temperatures, although fresh meat base is also within thescope of the invention. The frozen meat base is ready for furtherprocessing by thawing the meat base. In some example embodiments, meatbase is thawed using a microwave. Alternatively, the meat base can bethawed by other devices known by one of ordinary skill in the art. Onesuch alternative device is a tempering device.

The frozen containers (i.e. bags) of meat base are thawed and the meatbase is placed in a tumbler to begin the process of forming a meatmixture. Once the meat base begins the tumbling process, the meat baseis combined with auxiliary ingredients forming a meat mixture. The meatbase can be used in an amount between about 30% and about 90% by weightof the meat mixture, for example about 60% by weight of the meatmixture. In some example embodiments, the meat base and auxiliaryingredients can optionally be subjected to a vacuum to form ahomogeneous meat mixture. The vacuum can remove entrapped air and canprovide a more dense and homogenous blend. The vacuum can be applied ata level from about 0 to about 30 mm/Hg.

The meat mixture is prepared by mixing the meat base with auxiliaryingredients that may include a binding agent, a salt, a sugar, an acid,a mold inhibitor, a flavoring compound, an aroma compound, a coloringcompound, a moisturizing compound or any combination of two or morethereof.

The binding agent can be used in an amount between about 10% and about75% by weight of the meat mixture. In one example embodiment the bindingagent is about 20% by weight of the meat mixture. The type and amount ofbinding agent can be selected so that the resulting product is notsticky and no residue is left on the pet owners' finger-tips orhousehold's surfaces, such as carpets. For example, the binding agentcan be added to “buffer” or to absorb fat content in the meat mixture.The binding agent can also facilitate the blending of the variousingredients and allow the meat mixture to hold a shape prior to beingdried.

The binding agent can include, but is not limited to, oat flour, soyflour, wheat flour, rice flour, potato flour, corn flour, rye flour,buckwheat flour, chestnut flour, chickpea flour, atta flour, pea flour,bean flour, amaranth flour, arrowroot flour, taro flour, cattail flour,acorn flour, sorghum flour, or tapioca flour, or a combination of two ormore thereof. The flour, in this case wheat flour, is incorporated inamount of no more than 25% by weight of the meat mixture.

The aroma compound or flavoring compound, provide palatabilityenhancement respectively and include, but are not limited to, garlic(e.g., garlic concentrate, garlic oil, garlic powder, garlic aroma),onion (e.g., onion concentrate, onion oil, onion powder, onion aroma),natural smoke flavor, hickory, mesquite, anchovy, chicken, lobster,tikka, tandoori, parsley, spinach, saffron, digestive (liquid stomachcontents of an animal, e.g., chicken), phosphate, yeast, or enzymaticliver (pork, turkey or chicken), or any derivative thereof, or anycombination of two or more thereof. Additionally salt may be added toenhance flavor and can also provide particle binding in forming meatmixture.

The aroma compound or flavoring compound can be used in an amountbetween about 0% and about 5% by weight of the meat mixture, for exampleless than about 1% by weight of the meat mixture. The coloring compoundcan be used in an amount between about 0% and about 4% by weight of themeat mixture, for example less than about 1% by weight of the meatmixture. Flavoring compounds can be used in an amount between about 0%and about 0.5% by weight of the meat mixture, for example about 0.25% byweight of the meat mixture.

Coloring compounds provide cosmetic enhancement respectively andinclude, but are not limited to, caramel coloring, malliouse, allura redAC, annatto, astaxanthin, betanin or beetroot red, blue 2, brilliantblack BN, brilliant blue FCF, brown FK, canthaxanthin, carmine,carotene, Color Blue, curcumin, erythrosine, orange number 1, ironoxide, orange B, ponceau 6R, red 40, red 2G, saffron, sunset yellow FCF,tartrazine, titanium dioxide, turmeric, yellow 5, yellow 2, or anycombination of two or more thereof.

The humectant can be used to reduce water activity. Water activity is ameasure of the availability of water in a food for microbial growth suchas molds. Water activity is a primary method of controllingantimicrobial or mold growth. One example range of water activity is anaW value of less than 0.7. The humectant including sugar, or sugaralcohols can be used in an amount between about 0% and about 20% byweight of the meat mixture, for example about 15% to 18% by weight ofthe meat mixture. The humectant, can include, but is not limited tofructose, dextrose, maltodextrin, honey, high-fructose corn syrup,maltose, brown sugar, coconut sugar, date sugar, sucanat, molasses,turbinado sugar, dextrin, glucose, sucrose, sucralose, glycerin or anyderivative thereof, or any combination of two or more thereof.

The meat mixture may also include a mold inhibitor. A non-exclusive listof mold inhibitors include, but is not limited to, potassium sorbate,cultured whey, calcium propionate, cultured dextrose, cultured yeast,benzoic acid, acetic acid, or plum powder, or any derivative thereof orany combination of two or more thereof.

A moisturizing compound can be used in a range of between 2% and 20%.For example, a moisturizing compound, such as water, will aid information of the meat mixture. For example, the moisture content of themeat mixture may be above 20% prior to drying the pet treat, but willachieve a moisture content below 20%, for example 18%, in the final pettreat product.

It should be appreciated that each of these ingredients other than themeat base is optional, such as the ingredients with a percentage rangestarting at 0%. Table 1 and 2 describe example formulations for pettreat.

TABLE 1 Name % Rice Starch 21.363 Rawhide 21.178 Chicken Meat 13.26 PorkRawhide 12.683 Duck meat 12.085 Glycerin 11.416 Chicken liver 1.779Potassium Sorbate 0.155 FD&C Red 40 0.068 FD&C Yellow 6 0.011

TABLE 2 Name % Rawhide 22.81 Chicken breast meat 20.07 Pork Rawhide17.18 Duck breast 13.15 Wheat flour 11.85 Glycerin 10.21 Chicken liver4.58 Garlic powder 0.14 FD&C Red #40 0.0004 FD&C yellow #6 0.0048 FD&CBlue #1 0.0048 Total Ingredients 100%

After mixing the meat base with the auxiliary ingredients and optionallysubjecting it to a vacuum in the tumbling device, the temperature of themixture can be checked. If the temperature is too high the mixture canbe cooled, by techniques such as the addition of CO₂. Conversely, if thetemperature is too low additional heat is applied to facilitate theformation of the meat mixture.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 6, where the meat mixture is transported toa production area and portioned. Each portion of meat mixture ispositioned on the chew stick 30. FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of oneor more portions 20 positioned on a chew stick 30. Although not wantingto be bound by any particular theory, the portions of meat mixture canbe wrapped around chew stick in a manner that will require that aportion is pinched to remove any gaps. In an alternative embodiment thechew stick is pressed through the middle of portion, similar to placingmeat or vegetables on a skewer when making shish kabobs.

In one embodiment, the portion of meat mixture may vary althoughportions between 0.25 inches and 1.5 inches are typical. The portionswill typically range in weight, but will be between 0.25 and 4 oz.Furthermore, although the portions are generally made cylindrical inshape, the portions can be made with other shapes and conformations. Forexample, the geometrical shape of the base of the cylinder can beselected as desired, such as made round or flat. In addition, theportions can be shaped so as to form, generally round-shaped meat pieces(generally referred to as meatballs), cubic-shaped meat pieces,cylindrical-shaped meat pieces (for example, meat pieces resemblingsausages), polygonal-shaped meat pieces, pyramid-shaped meat pieces,heart-shaped meat pieces, flat-wafer-shaped, or other morecomplex-shaped meat pieces.

Referring now to FIG. 4, once the desired number of portions ispositioned on the chew stick, the pet treat may be moved to a surfacethat will form grooves on the outer surface of the portion. In thisregard, the surface can be made of a number of materials. However, thematerials must be compatible with the drying temperatures and duration.In one example embodiment, the surface is a net. A net allows for theweight of each pet treat to “nestle” on the netting and thus formgrooves along the outer surface of the one or more portions.

The meat pieces can then be transferred via conveyor or manualtransportation to a drying oven. The drying step is in an oven at about40 degrees Celsius to about 60 degrees Celsius. In some exampleembodiments the drying time is at least 5 hours. In related embodiments,the drying time is between 5 to 7 hours. Additionally the pet treat mayfurther be baked. The optional baking step is at a temperature of atleast 80 degrees Celsius for at least 30 minutes.

Once the baking step is finished the pet treats are removed from theoven and allowed to cool. Cold air or any other cold gas is forced onthe surface which transports the pet treats from the oven to packaging.Air or gas that is warmed by contact with the pet treats isre-circulated and passed through refrigerated plates to cool the air/gasand then the air/gas is blown again over the pet treat. This process canbe repeated numerous times until the pet treats are cooled to a desiredtemperature.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, where the cooled pet treats are removedfrom the surface and will have grooves along the outer surface of theone or more portions. This will give the pet treat the appearance of agrilled shish kabob. In one example embodiment, the surface is a netstructure. Prior to packaging, the pet treat may undergo a variety ofquality control measures to detect for metal and microbial activity inthe finished product. For example, prior to packaging, the pet treatscan be sent through a metal detection device. If the presence of metalis detected in the pet treats, the contaminated pet treat is removedfrom the packaging step.

In one embodiment, air in the bags is displaced (either drawn via avacuum or pushed with an inert gas or gas blend) so as to reduce thelevel of oxygen in the bags. Then the bags are filled with the pettreats and the bags are purged in an atmosphere filled with nitrogen oran inert gas such as argon, or a combination of these gases. In anotherembodiment, the bags are filled with the portions of pet treats in amodified atmosphere containing nitrogen, inert gas (e.g., argon), carbondioxide, or carbon monoxide, or any combination of two or more thesegases. Any of these gasses can comprise about 0% to about 100% by weightof the gas composition. In one embodiment, the bags of pet treatscomprise an atmosphere that includes nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide, andcarbon monoxide. The purpose of the gas introduction is to reduce theamount of oxygen in the bag.

In general, typical meat or meat-based products include cooked meat withmeat juice or fat may not be desirable by the pet owner or consumer.Alternatively, the pet treats described herein offer a more suitablehandling. In one example embodiment, the resulting pet treat is madesuch that it does not leave sticky or oily residue on the fingers of thepet owner or consumer who handles the pet treat. To state another way,the pet treat leaves a minimum amount of residue on the fingers of theconsumer. Moreover, the plurality of meat portions allows for a pettreat that has increased palatability and good ingredients.

For example, the addition of flour (e.g., wheat flour) can help soak upthe fat content in the meat mixture, hence substantially reducing thepotential of having a sticky residue when handling the pet treats. Inaddition, special blending techniques (e.g., vacuum blending asdescribed in the above paragraphs) and other processes or techniques,maximize blending and reduce the occurrence of large chunks of meat inthe meat mixture. The use of a dry oven with reduced humidity, asdescribed in the above paragraphs, can produce pet treats with asubstantially dry outer surface. This outer surface can form an outerdry surface to minimize the moisture from the one or more portions frombleeding out. Further, because the one or more portions are dried andthe flavoring is found homogenously mixed the likelihood of transferringany dye or flavoring to a decorative surface is reduced because the dyeor flavoring is less prone to contacting the decorative surface and isless prone to rub off if it does contact the decorative surface.

As shown in FIGS. 7-9, the final product is a pet treat 10 with one ormore portions 20 positioned along a chew stick 30 with the appearance ofa shish kabob. Referring to the ingredients and material describedabove, the pet treat 10 can comprise at least one rawhide section shapedto form a chew stick 30.

The one or more portions 20 are attached to the outside surface of thechew stick 30. If should be appreciated that the number of portions 20placed along a chew stick will be related to consumer desire andcommercial viability. However, the length of the chew stick, size of theone or more portions and proximity of the one or more portions to oneanother are all factors in determining the number of portions on the pettreat 10. As best shown in FIG. 9, each of the one or more portions arepositioned in a manner that provide a space between the next adjacentportion where the outer surface of chew stick 30 is exposed. In someexample embodiments, each of the one or more portions are positioned ina substantially equal distance from an adjacent portion. As describedabove, the one or more portions also comprise grooves on the outersurface.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 9 where pet treat is described showingthree portions. As shown, each of the three portions 20 a, 20 b and 20 ccan be made from the same meat mixture formulation. Alternatively, pettreat can be made where at least two of the one or more portions on thepet treat 10 are from the same meat mixture formulation. In anotheralternative embodiment each of the one or more portions on the pet treat10 are a different meat mixture formulation. In a related exampleembodiment the three portions are pork, beef and chicken or chicken,duck and liver. However, the specific meat mixture used for each portioncan be selected from a group consisting of pork, beef, chicken, duck,goat, horse, buffalo, venison, elk, moose, liver, fish, veal, lamb,turkey, goose and combinations thereof.

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. In fact, after reading the above description, it will beapparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement theinvention in alternative embodiments. Thus, the present invention shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.Accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents should beconsidered as falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theinvention. Since many embodiments of the invention can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention, the inventionresides in the claims hereinafter appended.

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for making a pet treat, the stepscomprising: forming a meat mixture into portions, the meat mixture beingsubjected to a vacuum to form a homogeneous meat mixture; forming atleast one sheet comprising rawhide into a chew stick having astick-shaped appearance, wherein the stick shape appearance comprises asubstantially uniform circumference along the length of the chew stick;positioning one or more of the portions on the external surface of thechew stick, wherein the one or more portions surround the circumferenceof a region of the chew stick, thereby forming a pet treat, wherein theone or more portions are positioned on the external surface of the chewstick; placing the pet treat on a surface, wherein the surface formsgrooves on the outer surface of the one or more portions; drying the pettreat in an oven at about 40 degrees Celsius to about 60 degrees Celsiusfor at least 5 hours; baking the pet treat at a temperature of at least80 degrees Celsius for at least 30 minutes; and packing a plurality ofpet treats in a container.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein the pettreat comprises one or more coloring compounds selected from a groupconsisting of caramel coloring, malliouse, allura red AC, annatto,astaxanthin, betanin or beetroot red, blue 2, brilliant black BN,brilliant blue FCF, brown FK, canthaxanthin, carmine, carotene, ColorBlue, curcumin, erythrosine, orange number 1, iron oxide, orange B,ponceau 6R, red 40, red 2G, saffron, sunset yellow FCF, tartrazine,titanium dioxide, turmeric, yellow 5, yellow 2, or any combination oftwo or more thereof.
 3. The process of claim 1, further comprisingforming two rawhide sheets and wherein each of two rawhide sheets arefrom a different animal source.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein theone or more portions comprises at least three portions and wherein eachof the portions comprises a meat mixture comprising a meat base with oneor more auxiliary ingredients and wherein each of the one or moreportions on the pet treat are a different meat mixture formulation andwherein the pet treat comprises portions each having one of pork, beefand chicken or chicken, duck and liver.
 5. The process of claim 1,wherein the meat mixture comprises mixing a meat base with one or moreauxiliary ingredients and wherein the one or more auxiliary ingredientsinclude a binding agent, a salt, a sugar, an acid, a mold inhibitor, aflavoring, an aroma compound, a coloring compound, or any combination oftwo or more thereof.
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the meat mixturecomprises a meat selected from a group consisting of pork, beef,chicken, duck, goat, horse, buffalo, venison, elk, moose, liver, salmon,veal, lamb, turkey, goose and combinations thereof.
 7. The process ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more portions comprise grooves on the outersurface of all of the one or more portions.
 8. The process of claim 1,wherein the one or more portions comprises at least three portions andwherein each of the portions comprises a meat mixture comprising a meatbase with one or more auxiliary ingredients and wherein each of the oneor more portions on the pet treat are a different meat mixtureformulation and wherein the pet treat comprises portions each having oneof pork, beef and chicken or chicken, duck and liver.
 9. The process ofclaim 1, wherein each of the one or more portions on the pet treat ismade from the same meat mixture formulation.
 10. The process of claim 1,wherein the pet treat comprise at least two portions and wherein the atleast two portions on the pet treat are from the same meat mixtureformulation.